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SX9: Tocantina
SX9: Tocantina is the ninth game in the X series. Comprised of the newest cast in some time, the season was full of drama- from the rise and fall of the Timbira Tribe pre-merge to one of the most brutal Final Tribal Councils of the series, this group will go down as one of the most competitive and ruthless casts of all time. One interesting aspect on this season was each castaway was asked pre-season of their prior relationships or first impressions of the rest of their competitors. Based on their answers, each castaway was paired with an Arch-Rival (or the person who they would least likely get along with) and each tribe was made up of 4 of these pairs. In the end it was Aaron Reisberger/WAT426 who went from early pre-merge target to endgame mastermind, going on a late game challenge streak and whose impressive turnabout strategy managed to seal his victory again his more well-known finalists Spencer Duhm/BloedroodRoze and Jean-Robert Bellande/TimmyTAR. Contestants The Game Recap Following the initial Reward Challenge, the Timbira Tribe won the right to a better camp leaving the Zhan Hu Tribe struggling. The Zhan Hu Tribe, which was made up of one of the most volitile pairs, went on immunity losing streak which resulting in them visiting the first three Tribal Councils, where Sierra, Tyson '''and '''Dave were all voted out for their (lack of) challenge performance. Despite losing every Immunity Challenge, Zhan Hu proved their worth by winning rewards. They were spared a fourth vote when J.T. had a nervous breakdown and quit during the Immunity Challenge, causing the tribe in black to lose their first member. After winning yet another reward challenge, the Zhan Hu Tribe opted to open a Mystery Chest, which resulted in them being able to kidnap two members. Sherea, who was kidnapped first, got to decide which two members of Zhan Hu would join Timbira in their place. Zhan Hu elected to also kidnap Erinn, while Sherea sent Ashley and Jaime to join Timbira. The switch resulted in tribal politics being reshuffled as both Todd and Erinn were cast out of the game, evening both original tribes just in time for the merge. Two rival voting blocks emerged and the threat of a Hidden Immunity Idol resulted in Jaime being sent home on Night 21. On Day 23, Ashley made a heart-breaking announcement that she would have to leave the game, leaving us with our final eight. Following a Survivor Auction, a tie vote occured between Sydney & Taj on Night 27 that resulted in Sydney leaving after someone switched their vote in the re-vote. On Day 28, Jeff announced that the Zhan Hu idol was never found and would now be played for in Reward Challenges. On Night 30, another tie vote was seen at the following Tribal Council involving Taj yet again. Once again her opponent, Sherea, who had won three individual challenges up to this point, was voted out of the tribe leaving us with our final six. On Day 31, the tribe's loved one's visited the game and were allowed to compete for a chance to join the tribe and vote at the upcoming challenge. While Spencer and his boyfriend, Todd Herzog and Taj and her husband, Eddie George came close, it was Brendan and his secret lover Tyra Banks who won the challenge. Unable to save herself with immunity,' Taj' was finally voted out of the tribe. On Night 36, Brendan and Spencer both played their Hidden Immunity Idols (Brendan's from Timbira, Spencer's from Zhan Hu). The chaos resulted in a split vote that left Courtney in the crosshairs when two votes for Spencer were nullified. On Day 37, the Final Four was given the opportunity to compete to decide whether there would be a Final 2 or a Final 3. Aaron won the Final Reward Challenge, winning a Final Vote tiebreaker and he opted for a Final 3. Aaron's challenge advantage helped him win the Final Immunity Challenge and it was Brendan who found himself betrayed for being too big of a jury threat and instead became the final juror. During the game's most brutal final Tribal Council, all three players were grilled for staying under the radar for the vast majority of the game. While Aaron was criticized for betraying and unneedlessly lying, Jean-Robert was questioned on his true desire to win the game throughout the game and Spencer's vendetta against his tribe's betrayal of his boyfriend, Todd, was also a point of contention as many felt he was consumed by it. Although he started out the game lucky to be on a winning tribe, Aaron Reisberger/WAT426 redeemed himself in the eyes of the jury for having the strongest endgame strategy and a lucky reward win in one of his four consecutive challenges ended up being the tiebreaking factor that won him the game in a 3-3-1 vote. Voting Tracker Arch-Rivals This season was based loosely off of "The Art of War" and resulted in each castaway be paired in the first challenge with the player they ranked collectively lowest, known as their Arch-Rival. If by coincidence or fate, the first seven members voted out of the game were a member of a different Arch-Rival pair. Aaron and Spencer broke that curse and were the only pair to survive to Day 39.